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FAU CARD Constituency

Board Members

 

Joe Cardenas

Joe is the regional president of Bank United in Florida. He is the father of a young boy with autism. He has been active in a number of community organizations with a focus on programs that seek to help children with disabilities and their families. Joe was the sponsor of the Inaugural FAU-CARD Golf Tournament held on September 20, 2007 at the Winston Trails Golf Course in Lake Worth. Joe has been very active with FAU faculty and the Autism Society of Florida in helping to advocate for autism services for the FAU region and the entire state having traveled to Tallahassee to share his views with legislatures.

Al Flores

Al has been a resident of Palm Beach County since 1970. He is the father of three children and a CARD constituent for many years. Al is a longtime member of the Autism Society of America of the Palm Beaches and the past chairperson of the Family Care Council. He is the current vice-chair of the Local Advocacy Council. Al is a member of the Partners in Transition Workgroup and member of the Palm Beach County Council for Transition. He earned his MBA from Nova Southeastern University and is currently employed as a Transition Advocacy Specialist at the Coalition for Independent Living Options. 

Contact: alflores@att.net


Robert (Bob) Kanjian

Bob and his wife, Anne, have a young son with autism and served together as the 2005-2006 Honorary Chairs for the Palm Beach County Walk Far for NAAR event. Their son, Jack, has made remarkable progress as a result of the intensive and skilled intervention services Bob and Anne have coordinated. Jack is currently in the Talented and Gifted program in Palm Beach County Schools and is fully included in a general education classroom. Bob is an attorney and owner of Building Solutions, LLC in West Palm Beach. HE has served on the Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee of the Palm Beach County School District and was the Chairman of the Palm Beach County Environment Appeal Board for 2005-2006. He was elected to the Palm Beach County School Board from District 4 in 2006. In addition, Bob and Anne have been active in helping rally support for an expanded FAU CARD and continue to support CARD's efforts in Tallahassee.

Contact: bkanjian@buildingsolutionsllc.com


Darlene Foster

Darlene is the mother of a young boy with autism and other disabilities. She has been an active advocate for families of children with disabilities. She had worked for the Center of Independent Living is West Palm Beach and now works as a support coordinator with Barbara Burns and Associates in Boca Raton. Here she helps persons with disabilities and their families make choices as to the services they wish to have provided. As an African-American, Darlene is sensitive to the special challenges that minority families fact in raising a child with disabilities.<

Contact: darlenefstr@yahoo.com


Dennis Debbaudt

Dennis is the proud father of Brad, a young man who has autism. He is an autism and law enforcement author and advocate, and he has trained law enforcement professional throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom over the past decade. Dennis lives in Port St. Lucie with his wife, Gay, and their son, Brad.

Contact: ddpi@flashnet.com


Jaclyn (Jackie) Merens

Jackie lives in Boca Raton with her son Daniel who has autism. She has been a member of the UM CARD Constituency Board since its inception. She has been an advocate for children and families since her son was diagnosed in 1988 and is involved with many school and community organizations and boards throughout South Florida. Jackie is currently the South Florida Director for Autism Speaks coordinating fund raising events to raise money for biomedical research.

Contact: jmerens@autismspeaks.org


Janet Elinoff

Janet is a vice president of Comerica Bank in Boca Raton and a CPA. She is the mother of a young boy with autism. She has been active in developing services for persons with disabilities in Boca Raton. She was instrumental in helping establish an early intervention program at St. Mary's Hospital. She worked to bring about major improvement in services for persons with disabilities at the Jewish Community Center in West Boca Raton. She has been very active with FAU faculty in helping to advocate for a new and expanded CARD for FAU, having traveled several times to Tallahassee to share her views with legislators.

Contact: jselinoff@comerica.com


Pam Minelli

Pam is a marketing consultant for IBM Corporation with over 20 years of sales, marketing and management experience. She served as Chairperson for the Renaissance Learning Center Governing Board for four years and is currently Chairperson of Renaissance's School Advisory Council. Pam is active in fundraising for the Autism Project of Palm Beach County and has served as Co-Chairperson for their annual dinner. She is also a free-lance grant writer and proud mother to Andrew, a wonderful boy who has autism.

Contact: appbc@adelphia.net


FAU Campuses: Boca Raton/Davie/Dania Beach/Fort Lauderdale/Jupiter/Treasure Coast
Boca Raton 561-297-3000 Davie 954-236-1000 Dania Beach 954-924-7000 Fort Lauderdale 954-236-1000 Jupiter 561-799-8500